Tinubu aide says government reforms will end tertiary education strikes

Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Protocol, Issah Niniola, has said the President has laid the foundation for ending recurring strikes by lecturers in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Niniola spoke on Monday in Oba-Oke, Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun, during an event at which educational materials were distributed to pupils, students and schools through the Issah Adedotun Foundation. He said Nigeria’s education system remained a work in progress but claimed that measures introduced by the administration would prevent further strikes.

“He has laid the foundation to stop strikes forever in the country,” Niniola said. The presidential aide cited the Nigeria Education Loan Fund and allowances for lecturers as part of the administration’s education-related measures. He said the government was also working to ensure that students received quality education and argued that these efforts were among the reasons Nigerians should support Tinubu’s bid for a second term.

Niniola said he had distributed free educational materials for 25 years and would continue supporting children from less privileged backgrounds. He stressed the importance of primary and secondary education and noted that those levels fell mainly under local and state governments. He urged pupils and students to avoid truancy, drug abuse and cultism.

Niniola told them that his own education in one of the local primary schools had helped him progress and that their circumstances should not prevent them from achieving their ambitions. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s Deputy State Commander for Drug Demand Reduction and Sensitisation, Toyin Adegoke, also addressed the gathering. She said young people were major drug users and urged students to reject drug abuse and cultism.

Exercise books, first-aid boxes and other educational materials were distributed at the event.